Newspapers are inherently difficult to collate, feed and handle because of their bulky yet flimsy natures. Big city newspapers in particular have presented formidible obstacles because the shear size and mass of their many sections make the newspapers almost impossible to fold, tie or wrap. Thus, many such newspapers are simply assembled and sold in flat, half-folded form, each newspaper comprising two or more short stacks of nested, half-folded sections. However, with this arrangement it is difficult to keep all parts of the newspaper assembled together, and such a loose product is impossible to throw from moving vehicles during residential delivery.
Furthermore, the trend in recent years has been for advertisers to place a growing number of advertising media or loose "inserts" into such newspapers in an effort to reach the consuming public as an alternative to direct mail and other methods. These inserts pose a particular problem in that they are typically coated with a relatively slick substance that encourages them to slip out of the newspapers and become lost during handling. Moreover, they are of considerable value monetarily, and thus present an attractive target for unscrupulous individuals who might pilfer the inserts without purchasing a complete newspaper.
Consequently, the need has been increasingly felt for a system of bagging such newspapers in a flat condition in protective, transparent bags or wrappers to overcome the numerous problems brought on by the growth and changes in the newspaper industry. However, to the best of my knowledge, no satisfactory, high speed, commercially acceptble system of this type has heretofore been available, notwithstanding the pressing need for such a system in recent years.